People concerned with the city’s drinking water and the state’s environment need to comment on the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) draft hydraulic fracturing permitting guidelines.

The DEC recently released the revised draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), which is the document that will guide permitting of this controversial natural gas drilling technique. The comment period ends on January 11, 2012.

We need our voices heard here in New York City because the revised SGEIS does not analyze the cumulative impacts that this activity could have on our communities; nor does it properly address how to dispose of the toxic drilling wastewater.

New York City’s fragile water supply infrastructure is left unprotected with inadequate setbacks from drilling sites. It would be catastrophic if the city lost our water supply. While the DEC did create some restrictions, many of them either expire after two years or can be waived by property owners. But perhaps the most glaring deficiency is the lack of a public health analysis.

New York residents who want to read the full document can find it on the DEC’s website at www.dec.ny.gov/energy/75370.html. Submit comments before January 11 at www.dec.ny.gov/energy/76838.html.